The Practice Structured on the Discourse: Repertoires and Dominant Discourses in Brazilian Scientific Literature on Agrochemicals

Abstract

The present work aims to clarify the discursive practices of Brazilian scientific literature on chemical pesticides in order to understand, from a historical perspective, which repertoires are available to give meaning to the use of pesticides in Brazil. It further draws a picture of the positions taken in the technical area, from the creation of the “Agrochemicals Law” in 1989 until the present day. A total of 78 articles from ten journals were reviewed using the analysis of the discourses method as well as an overview of the database according to years, authors, and titles. The results show that scientific production is concentered in the south and southeast Brazilian institutions where the authors mostly come from. Their articles analyze presented repertoires that were categorized into three types: "required use of pesticides", "use of pesticides integrated with biological control”, and "no use of pesticides". The results suggest that there is no consensus in the discursive practices of Brazilian scientific literature on agrochemicals. It was concluded that there is in literature the suggestion that integrated pest control could improve the quality of production and lessen impacts on health and the environment. The dominant discourse is still linked to the paradigm that in order to have a high level of food production it is still necessary to use pesticides.